Pediatric Meningoencephalitis Cluster Caused by Snowshoe Hare Virus, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, 2024

Let's set the stage by introducing the bacteria examined in this study.

Let's start with the name, carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant enterobacterioles, or CP-CRE for short.

It's a long name, so let's break it down, starting with the last part.

Enterobacterioles are bacteria that commonly cause healthcare-associated infections, also known as HAIs.

The most frequently encountered species of enterobacteriolase that we see in healthcare-associated infections are E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and enterobacter cloacae.

Next, let's define CRE.

CRE stands for carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriolase.

So CRE are a class of drug-resistant bacteria.

They're a threat to human health because they cause infections that are difficult to treat.

So they've been referred to as nightmare bacteria by CDC in the past.

And that's really just because, again, if someone ends up with a CRE infection, there's very limited treatment options for patients.

They typically are associated with health care, associated infections or HAIs.

But as we show in this paper, they can also be found in the community.

And lately, in the past few years, other work by CDC in our division has shown that some types of CRE that were previously pretty rare in the United States are becoming more and more common.

So we're seeing CRE emerging as an increasing threat in multiple states across the U.S.

So that was just important to note with CREs, they're emerging as a more important public health threat within the last few years.

So carbapenems are an important class of broadly acting antibiotics.

For many bugs or many pathogens, they're considered last-line drugs, especially to treat gram-negative bacteria, which include enterobacteriolase.

And carbapenemases are enzymes, so they are proteins that can be found in bacteria that inactivate most or all classes of carbapenems as well as other beta-lactam antibiotics.

So they're basically genes that can encode enzymes that can quickly degrade these drugs and render them ineffective.

So drugs you would take intravenously, like for a serious infection.

So the CP in CPCRE stands for carbapenemase producing.

It refers to the enzymes these bacteria produce that make carbapenem antibiotics ineffective.

And they're important because they have a really broad activity.

And, you know, that's what you would get prescribed if nothing else would work.

Let's set the stage by introducing the bacteria examined in this study.

Let's start with the name, carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant enterobacterioles, or CP-CRE for short.

It's a long name, so let's break it down, starting with the last part.

Enterobacterioles are bacteria that commonly cause healthcare-associated infections, also known as HAIs.

The most frequently encountered species of enterobacteriolase that we see in healthcare-associated infections are E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and enterobacter cloacae.

Next, let's define CRE.

CRE stands for carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriolase.

So CRE are a class of drug-resistant bacteria.

They're a threat to human health because they cause infections that are difficult to treat.

So they've been referred to as nightmare bacteria by CDC in the past.

And that's really just because, again, if someone ends up with a CRE infection, there's very limited treatment options for patients.

They typically are associated with health care, associated infections or HAIs.

But as we show in this paper, they can also be found in the community.

And lately, in the past few years, other work by CDC in our division has shown that some types of CRE that were previously pretty rare in the United States are becoming more and more common.

So we're seeing CRE emerging as an increasing threat in multiple states across the U.S.

So that was just important to note with CREs, they're emerging as a more important public health threat within the last few years.

So carbapenems are an important class of broadly acting antibiotics.

For many bugs or many pathogens, they're considered last-line drugs, especially to treat gram-negative bacteria, which include enterobacteriolase.

And carbapenemases are enzymes, so they are proteins that can be found in bacteria that inactivate most or all classes of carbapenems as well as other beta-lactam antibiotics.

So they're basically genes that can encode enzymes that can quickly degrade these drugs and render them ineffective.

So drugs you would take intravenously, like for a serious infection.

So the CP in CPCRE stands for carbapenemase producing.

It refers to the enzymes these bacteria produce that make carbapenem antibiotics ineffective.

And they're important because they have a really broad activity.

And, you know, that's what you would get prescribed if nothing else would work.